Duty Ethics

A Drug Study A number of physicians are recruited to participate in a large-scale, multi-center study to investigate the survival rates of breast cancer victims who are being treated with a new drug. Strict rules are developed regarding inclusion of patients in the study. Only those who have had surgery within the last three months can be included. Dr. Smith has a patient who hears about the study and wants very much to participate . Because Dr. Smith thinks the drug could really help this patient, he agrees to include her even though her surgery took place six months ago. He changes the dates on her charts to confirm with the study requirements and reasons that this one little change shouldn’t affect the study results.

Kant’s Ethics Immanuel Kant required moral principles that do not rest on contingencies/ possibilities that define actions as inherently right or wrong apart from any particular circumstances. He believed that moral reasoning is not based on factual knowledge and that the results of our actions do not determine whether they are right or wrong.

Nothing is good in itself except a good will Nothing is good in itself except a good will. The goodness of intelligence for instance depends on the will that makes use of them. Than intelligence is not good when used by an evil person. By will Kant meant the uniquely human capacity to act from principle. So only when we act from duty does our action have moral worth. When we act only out of feeling, liking or self interest, our actions have no true moral worth.

“A man finds himself forced by need to borrow money “A man finds himself forced by need to borrow money. He well knows that he will not be able to repay it, but he also sees that nothing will be loaned him if he does not firmly promise to repay it at a certain time. He desires to make such a promise, but he has enough conscience to ask himself whether it is not improper and opposed to duty to relieve his distress in such away.”

Duty A motive for acting in a certain way which indicates moral quality. It is important in Kantian Ethics where doing good means rationally determining and then following duty. What determines our duty? How do we know what morality requires of us? “Categorical Imperative” is the linchpin of Kant’s ethics

Living by Rules In contrast with consequentialists, Kant believed that reason alone can yield a moral law. We don’t need empirical evidence, such as consequences. For Kant, an absolute moral truth must be logically consistent, free from internal contradiction. He aimed to formulate a moral rule to ensure the avoidance of contradiction and everyone would be obliged to follow it without exception. There is just one command (imperative) that is categorical -Categorical Imperative- unconditional command that are binding on everyone at all times.

Types of Imperatives Hypothetical (Conditional) Imperative: “If I want people to like me , I should be nice to them” If you want to go to medical school, you must take biology.” Structure: if…then… and………but Changes depending on conditions Categorical Imperative “Always tell the truth” Unconditional, applicable at all times. Structure: “Do this” or “Don’t do that”

Categorical Imperatives “Always act in such a way that the maxim of your action can be willed as a universal law of humanity.” “If it applies to me now, it should apply to anyone else in a similar position.” Kant The answer to the question “What determines whether an act is right?” is that an act is morally right if and only if we can will it to become a universal law of conduct..

Categorical Imperatives Universalizability A moral law which can be obeyed every time everywhere. Kant maintained that the only maxims which are morally good are those which can be universalized. Maxim The subjective principle of an action, the principle (or rule) that people in effect formulate in determining their conduct. Example A person making a promise with no intention of keeping it cannot universalize the maxim governing his action bcs if everyone followed this principle , promising would make no sense.

Categorical Imperative: Publicity Always act in such a way that you would not be embarrassed to have your actions described on the front page of Hürriyet /Milliyet etc.

Categorical Imperatives: Respect “Always treat humanity, whether in yourself or in other people, as an end in itself and never as a mere (simple) means.” --Immanuel Kant …the radical distinction to be made between things and persons, and emphasizes the necessity of respect for persons.

Lying Is it possible to universalize a maxim that permits lying? What is the maxim? It’s ok to cheat when you want/need to. Can this consistently be willed as a universal law? No, it undermines itself, destroying the rational expectation of trust upon which it depends.

Academic Cheating Cheating involves not playing by the rules. Is it possible for the cheater to will his/her maxim as a universal law? No, because then others (including the teacher) could refuse to follow the rules as well, failing the cheater even with a good grade.

Exceptions Are exceptions possible for Kant? Examples Yes, as long as they can be consistently universalized Examples The speeding car We can universalize an exception for something like ambulance drivers

Kant in an Organizational Context Categorical imperative gives firm rules to follow in moral decision making, rules do not depend on circumstances or results and that do not permit individual exceptions. ( Lying is wrong=misrepresenting a product) Bring a humanistic dimension into business by not permitting us to treat people as means to ends. Respect to human dignity of human beings : much needed in today's business where invading technology tends to dehumanize people under the excuse of efficiency.

Kant in an Organizational Context Kant stresses the importance of motivation and of acting on principle : it is not enough just to do the right thing; an action has moral worth only if it is done from a sense of duty.

In justifying the obligations that arise from relations, such as contracts and roles, the relations are more important themselves than the consequences. For instance, a manufacturer has to change a defective product even though cost of doing this exceeds the benefit of satisfying a customer.

Problems In practice, however, Kant's ethics poses two great problems that lead many to reject it: Unlike the proportionality that comes out of the utility principle, the categorical imperative yields only absolutes. Actions either pass or fail with no allowance for a "gray area." Moreover, the rigid lines are often drawn in unlikely places. For example, lying is always wrong--even the "polite lie." Moral dilemmas are created when duties come in conflict, and there is no mechanism for solving them. Utilitarianism permits a ready comparison of all actions, and if a set of alternatives have the same expected utility, they are equally good. Conflicting duties, however, may require that I perform logically or physically incompatible actions, and my failure to do any one is itself a moral wrong.